The Best Songs in Dallas Music, 2010: Neon Indian Gets Corporate Backing and Pens Its Strongest Track to Date at No. 3

[Over these last few days of 2010, we'll be presenting our favorite local songs of the year, counting down from No. 25 to No. 1, one track a day. Today, we take an in-depth look at song No. 3 on the list -- and, please, feel free to click after the jump for a free download of the track. Also after the jump, check out songs Nos. 50-4 in the Top 50 list that will update as it grows...]

Here's the thing about that single, though: It may have come with massive hype -- Palomo's face was plastered all over billboards Austin in at March 2010's SXSW Festival, which conveniently came just after the song's release -- but it also lives up to it. In fact, "Sleep Paralysist," may be strongest, and most fully realized, single that Palomo has ever released over the course of his young, but ridiculously impressive, career.

Bonus mp3:

Neon Indian -- "Sleep Paralysist"

Right at the song's introduction, it becomes abundantly clear: With Mountain Dew's backing and with Taylor co-helming the production, this song is different from the bedroom recordings Palomo had so impressed with in his early Neon Indian, VEGA and Ghosthustler work. It's a sharp sound -- not unlike the rest of Palomo's work -- just suddenly slicker.

Which bodes well for Palomo's future -- the chillwave boom of the late ''00s and early '10s came only have so long of a shelf life. And while still true to the aesthetic of the genre that Palomo, willingly or not, helped spawn, this song is more of an electro pop gem than anything else.

And what a gem it is -- a wall of sound of blips, bleeps and synths that approaches sensory overload.

But it's more than just an earworm. It's also something of an insight into Palomo's world.

Is this what Palomo thinks of his moment in the sun? Perhaps -- especially when paired with these lyrics that appear later in the track: "Watch you lose yourself / In momentary grace / It washes over you / Then loses every trace."

After the year Palomo's had, though, added to the track record he's shown in prior years, fleeting fame isn't likely to become a problem for him.

Thanks to the musical progression on display in "Sleep Paralysist," we can confidently predict that we'll be hearing from Palomo and Neon Indian for years to come.